• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5

The Seventh Gate is a metal band hailing from Virginia. I say metal band since they do not fall into any specific category, often sounding more like speed/thrash metal, sometimes more heavy metal and sometimes Death Metal, and thankfully not flooding the listener with blast beats like some other bands. I think the band refer to themselves as "Satan Rock". The vocals however are pretty much in the Death Metal genre, with very deep growls and some very annoying screeches - I've never used the "cookie monster" analogy before, but it does apply to the screeches here. Some will like, some won't (I don't ;)). The last song however features clean vocals except for the last fifteen seconds - I found that song to be a bit grungy and not really up to par with the rest of the album. There's also a bit of narration here and there as an intro to a couple of songs.

Some riffs seem to have been heavily influenced by MoP and AJFA-era Metallica, especially on the eight track. The influence is there elsewhere but much less obvious. The most Death Metal-sounding parts remind me a little of Immolation, especially the guttural vocals. Overall the band has done a very good job mixing heavy metal, speed/thrash and death metal in their music and the result -musically- is quite refreshing and won't leave you with this "yet another death metal band" feeling. Personally I had to phase out the vocals to really enjoy the album, your mileage may vary. I have to mention the presence of a few silent tracks that last a few seconds. I don't see much point in doing this, other than annoying the listener - but this is still much less annoying than bands who leave a thirty minutes silence before a hidden track. Nevertheless, lose a quarter point in the rating for this offense. ;) I recommend this album to Death Metal fans and to speed/thrash fans who can stomach the vocals.

Additional Information

- CD available through the band's web site